Training Clever and listening to your body is something that we have all failed to do in the past-including myself. This last week still hopeful at competing at the beginning of March I took into consideration previous build up's.

Tuesday I did Chest and Triceps. I worked up to 85% of my 1 Rep Max doing sets of 5 then dropped to 60% and finished Bench press off with 5 sets of 10. This felt great coming back into higher reps and slightly lower weights. I really had to work for the last couple of reps on these last few sets. In total it was around 100 reps over all the sets to really break down the muscle.

I then stayed on the Bench and continued with high reps with some close grip bench press. This really finished of my triceps and helps towards my overhead pressing and muscle endurance especially when in competition with only 60 seconds on the clock!!

Wednesday was back day with speed deadlifts as the main event for the session. Again I’m training clever here and working up to around 85% and pulling as fast as I can in one clean motion working on my muscle endurance and explosiveness off the floor. Again when in competition you have 60 seconds to pull as many reps as possible, it's fast paced and intense lifting the back end of a car as many times as possible.

Friday it was what is fast becoming one of my favorite days-Over Head Press! I have done so much work on my power, strength, technique and flexibility with this I feel it is becoming one of my stronger events. Although last week I went heavy for my new 1 Rep Max PB I still felt I had much more in me. When attempting to push press so much weight overhead I feel so much of it is about technique. Every rep and every weight was flying up with ease and felt really light when taking it off the rack. Again the heavier the weight the lower the reps went. I worked up to 10lbs off my previous personal best with no issues. I then skipped matching my PB and jumped 10lbs over and nailed it!! Very happy!

Ideally once a week I would event train a couple of strongman events but right now due to the fact that I don't have a facility, I simply have to try and mimic upcoming events in the gym.

Sunday I chose to use the trap bar to train towards the car deadlift as it has the side handles. Again I trained speed and explosiveness and muscle endurance working sets of 10 up to 85%. I also trained overhead with some one arm dumbbell press. I love this event although the heaviest dumbbell in the gym is only 160lbs- I wonder if the gym manager will get me a special set up to 200lbs?? I may have to get a petition started from all the My Sports Nutrition community!

At the end of each of my training sessions I always put in a lot of work doing assistance work and then some form of cardio.

Thanks for reading guys-find a link to my Facebook page in the Athlete section at www.mysportsnutrition.com

EAT BIG TO GET BIG!

So, with competition time fast approaching it’s time to up my game a little bit. I always get people telling me they are doing everything right in the gym but are not seeing any progress in size and very little progress in strength. First thing I ask them is what they consume on a daily basis-9 times out of 10 they are either eating rubbish or simply not enough. You can lift and train all you want to but without proper nutrition you will never progress the way you should.

My general rule of thumb when it comes to calorie intake is 20 calories per pound of body weight if you are looking to gain good muscle mass, size and strength. So for someone who is 200lbs BW = 4000 GOOD calories is a benchmark. If you’re training right and training hard this won’t be a problem. For me I find it fairly easy to maintain my weight over 300lbs. Now that competition time draws closer I will generally consume around 6000 calories a day.

My “Typical” Strongman Daily Diet....

I will typically consume around 6-8 meals a day which include high protein foods like Red Meat, Chicken, Eggs & Milk. Cereals, bread, pasta, rice and potato along with some fruit like banana's and apples.

Breakfast: 8-10 Weetabix or other Wheat based cereal with 2 pints of Milk

1 hour later: MHP Up Your Mass Shake-with milk is around 800 calories

Mid-Morning: Chicken sandwiches on Whole-meal bread with some fruit.

Lunch: 2 Chicken breasts with Basmati/Wholegrain Rice with some kind of sauce for flavour.

1 hr. Pre Workout: 3-4 squares of Flapjack ENGLISH-Great for carbs and energy and not heavy on your stomach before workout.

20mins Pre Workout: 4 Scoops of USPLabs Jack3d (Yes 4 scoops!)

Immediately After workout: MHP Up Your Mass Shake.

Dinner: Lean cuts of steak with Rice or Potatoes, and a serving of veg even though I don't like my greens they are vital in my diet.

Mid-Evening: Chicken & Rice again, simple dish with great benefits.

Before bed: .MHP Probolic

Also throughout the day I take my Vitamins, Omega's and joint support.

So there it is-my typical daily intake, I try to keep it fairly clean and am constantly drinking water through the day. Yes I have my cheat meals and it’s always fun going out to dinner.

Thanks for reading guys and girls

Eat to grow!

10 Ways to beat the Gym

If going to the gym were easy it would be as busy as late January or early February year round. So many things can get in the way of our activity if the gym is our only option, so I’m here to give you a few alternatives that even if you are an avid gym goer are nice to change up the routine a bit. Here are ten alternatives to hitting the weights in the gym. As of today there will be no more excuses.

1. Resistance bands: The beauty of the resistance band is you’re basically getting a weight training regimen in without have to lift the weights. You can go at your own pace and the risk of injury is far less with a band then holding a heavy weight. The other great thing is the resistance is throughout the entire exercise motion where with the free weights there are certain parts of the movement that aren’t against gravity at a large enough angle. This results in a better range of motion strength and more complete stimulation.

2. Yoga: I had a client once that had such bad rheumatoid arthritis that she had to have assistance just to walk. She never lifted a weight with me once. I absolutely LOVED teaching her yoga and the results were amazing! We started off very light, doing some basic stretching helping her develop the ability to touch her toes and worked up from there. It was a long daunting task but at the end of 6 months she was a whole new person. Touching her toes no longer left her recovering for 3 days and she was able to walk around the house and to and from the car without assistance. Yoga has many benefits to it including a stronger body, more toned, and more flexible. It has its mental benefits as well, Yoga teaches you to focus on breathing while you hold the poses. This attention to breath is calming; it dissolves stress and anxiety. I use yogic breathing on the tennis courts, in the dentist's chair, when I'm stuck in traffic.

3. Jumping Jacks: Just one of the plyometrics I will list in this article jumping jacks always take me back to my childhood memories on the playground. Now I use them as an excellent cardio exercise or a really nice warm up for something else.

4. Ab circuit: How many people do you know that don’t want a six-pack? I don’t know of many. Now I do realize that abs start in the kitchen and nutrition is a key component but doing those ab workouts prior to being lean is the best way to ensure you have abs when the fat has melted away. I personally like to do a circuit that includes V-Ups, Crunches on the exercise ball and incline sit-ups on the Bosu ball. Always make sure they are slow and controlled and you use your mind-muscle connection to flex those abs while you are using them. This will not only help you develop that six-pack you have always wanted but teach you to control your midsection as well.

5. Military push-ups: These are by far not the easiest thing on this list and for a lot of people seem very out of reach, but they do not have to be. There is a simple trick I learned a long time ago that not only is easier to learn to do push-ups properly so you can actually reap the benefits but need to be done at home in order for the process to work. Now walk over to your stairs and place both hands on the stair directly in front of your stomach to chest section. Make sure your back is straight and your hips are tucked in. See how many push-ups you can do…. Was it 5 maybe 10, or for some even 20? If you were able to do at least 15 moved your hands down one stair. Your goal is to move all the way to the floor. It takes time but it is an achievable goal.

6. Light Weight Lifting: Wait! I said we weren’t going to the gym didn’t I? Well guess what, we still aren’t. Light weight lifting is something that can be done around the house we just need to be a little inventive. You remember those cans of food in the back of the pantry you have been trying not to use because it is processed? Well go grab them. These cans are great for some basic bicep exercises, lateral raises and if you lie down on the floor they can be used for chest press or to do chest flies. It’s a great way to burn off some calories and build muscle.

7. Mountain Climbers: These are another great full body cardio exercise. It helps to simulate the physical challenge of climbing a mountain, without any deprivation of oxygen or cold. They are also an excellent ab workout if you are just wanting to through something in without the full circuit. Make sure to balance your body well throughout the workout, and maintain a neutral back. Don't slouch. While performing the first mountain climber exercise, make sure the twist comes from the core and hips and never from your shoulders.

8. Exercise Videos: If you are someone who always feels lost when it comes to exercise and prefer to have a trainer like figure in your life then maybe exercise videos is the answer for you. They come in such a large variety you can do something new every day and never have to get bored. You can do something old school with Richard Simons, go a bit more new age with Jillian Michaels, or push yourself to your limits to be your absolute best with Tony Horton in P90X.

9. Squats: One of the most core exercises you can do, they increase functional strength, create an anabolic environment, are almost an entire body workout, tone and tighten your butt, improve balance and can help you gain flexibility. These are one of the few workouts used by almost every athlete in every sport and there is good reason for that. Don’t worry though you do not have to play a sport to reap the same benefits they do.

10. Hit the bleachers or just your stairs: What is a home workout without a bit of cardio. My favorite part of spring is when it warms up just enough to head to the local track and run bleachers. It is a quick way to get your heart rate up while also doing some anabolic exercises for your legs. If it is raining outside you do not have to miss your cardio either, stairs can be a great replacement to bleachers just flip on some music or a movie and go to town. You won’t regret it I promise.

Whether you are a new mom trying to get off some baby weight, a middle aged gentlemen ready to get rid of your stomach or a high school student just starting out and ready to get into shape to feel better about yourself, it doesn’t matter who you are working out from home is not only a great alternative to spending the time to get to the gym but spending the money for an expensive gym membership too. In the comfort of your own home you will be more likely to keep up with the exercises and develop a healthier lifestyle all around for yourself.

Persistence pays off!

So it turns out that my Deadlifting session on Monday took more out of me than I thought. I rested on Tuesday as I normally would the day after a heavy workout. Wednesday was a complete wipe-out-I did hit the gym to Bench press; let’s just say it did not go well. Every single one of us has had one of those days where everything just feels heavy. So I know from past experience when I feel like this it’s better for me to save anything that I had for my next workout.

So Thursday, fueled up from a nice 2000 calorie lunch, my Jack3d and the poor performance the day before I was determined to have a good HEAVY pressing session. I wouldn't normally press 2 days in a row but Wednesday was a write off.

Overhead press had always been one of my weaker events but a lot of hard work over the last 12-18 months has paid off. I gradually worked up to my previous best and then added a further 10lbs. First attempt FAIL, Second Attempt FAIL, this wound me more as when I took it off the rack it felt light but technique is crucial when lifting big. Third and last attempt I had to dig real deep but got it. GOD LOVES PERSISTENCE!

Technique is everything; I studied my own technique thoroughly when I was stuck at the same plateau for nearly 2 years. I researched into the techniques of some of the best overhead pressers in the world-Laurence Shahlaei, Derek Poundstone and Mikhail Koklyaev just to name a few. The push from my legs was good and timed well but one thing that I found personally was my grip on the bar. My grip was fairly wide, like I would have on the bench press; this totally took my triceps out of the press. My triceps are stronger and more useful to me than my shoulders when pressing overhead. I changed my grip slightly narrower and kept my elbows out in-front rather than to the side and instant improvement in my lift. I have put 45lbs on my OH press in a matter of months. Watch this blog to see if I can add another 45lbs and break 400lbs by the summer!!

I hope everyone enjoys the Superbowl on Sunday-I’m a Ravens fan they don't need me to play this weekend!! I will be in the gym both Saturday and Sunday. My competitors won't be taking a day off and there is no chance I will either!!!

Thanks for reading guys and girls!

Visualize, Believe, Achieve

Motivation when not renewed continuously can waver quickly and sometimes dwindle completely until we give up on our goals. This is just fine when your goal your trying to achieve is a short one that does not need to be continued once reached, but in the world of fitness a short no need to maintain goal is not only unrealistic it is none existent. It is a bumpy, curvy uphill battle that we must fight every day, every time we eat, get on cardio or step foot in the weights room. With this being said a dwindling motivation is not an option so here are a few steps towards renewing it, rejuvenating it and pushing through those motivation barriers that creep up on us like a shadow in the night.

Visualization:

The process of visualization is one of the most powerful things a mind can conceive. Mental practice can get you closer to where you want to be in life, and it can prepare you for success! A study looking at brain patterns in weightlifters found that the patterns activated when a weightlifter lifted hundreds of pounds were similarly activated when they only imagined lifting. In some cases, research has revealed that mental practices are almost effective as true physical practice, and that doing both is more effective than either alone. The process of visualization reiterates the goals you have in mind also. This same visualization needs to be done daily with the goal of what you want to look like not just what you do. Simply take the time to stand in front of the mirror take a good look at where you are then visualize yourself looking like what you want too.

Believe in Yourself:

There is a lot of negativity in this world that we must continuously fight against. I saw a saying once on a friends Facebook page that said “Dear haters, I have so much more for you to be mad at, just be patient.” To me this sums up negativity of success in a nut shell. So many people do not know how to improve themselves so they tear down those that are trying to and succeeding. If you take the time to believe in yourself first and foremost though it will force those around you to believe in you as well and that can only lead to success.

Billions of people fail to live the life they have always wished to live. They fail to realize their ambitions and give up on their big dreams as soon as they encounter the first obstacle. One of the strongest causes for this attitude is that they do not believe in themselves.

Under the pressure of this criticism some people start to doubt their own abilities and eventually give up. The few people who manage to believe in themselves however and who continue moving along the path they've chosen are the ones who succeed.

Achieve Success:

You conceived the ideal physique you want for yourself and set your plan of action in motion. Now all you need to do is make sure you stay focus and avoid boredom to achieve success!

Make sure that you are continuously renewing your workouts. Re-stimulating the muscle for growth and advancement will also re-stimulate your mind to avoid boredom. Continuously change your meal pan according to the goals you have set for yourself. Your meal plan should match up with your daily visualization. Never be afraid to let your goals change or advance either, most likely your goals will be different when you only have a few pounds to lose versus the 30 you had earlier.

Never be afraid to ask for help to achieve success either. It never hurts to seek the guidance of a trainer or nutritionist who can hold you accountable, help renew your motivation, track your progress or even inspire you. If your goals begin to change and you don’t know how to take the next step they can be a great help to getting you started.

Your mind controls the way to success. Learn to control the mind and you will learn to be successful. It all begins with Visualization, believing and then achieving and then anything will be possible for you.

Lindsey Fitstew’s 5 Favorite low carb recipes

	1. Protein Crepes •      Wisk together 2 eggwhites wit half scoop protein powder (I prefer chocolate but you may use whichever flavor you prefer). •      Blend well and cook like pancake •      Add cinnamon and stevia too taste or natural peanut butter when finished for some healthy fats.
	2. Chili •      1 quart water •      2lbs ground lean turkey •      1tsp cinnamon •      1tsp cumin •      1 onion, chopped •      1tsp Worcestershire sauce •      2 cloves garlic, mashed •      2tsp salt •      2tbsp chili powder •      1tsp black pepper •      1/2tsp red pepper •      1/2tsp allspice •      1 (6ounce) can tomato paste •      3bay leaves •      1 (4ounce) can mushrooms (drained) •      ¾ cup chopped green pepper Brown meats, drain off excess fat, add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then simmer 3 hours. Approx. 4 servings and 7-9 carbs per serving.
	3. Italian Meatloaf •      1 ½ lb ground lean turkey (could also use lean ground beef) •      1 small can tomatoes diced •      ½ cup parmesan cheese grated •      1 large onion diced small •      1 bunch Italian parsley chopped fine •      2tsp dried oregano •      2 large eggs •      3 cloves garlic chopped •      1tsp chili flakes •      1/2tsp kosher salt •      1tsp olive oil Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Using your hands or a wooden spoon form a bread loaf shape. Place meat in a greased loaf pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 1hour or until the internal temperature is 155 degrees. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing. It will be very moist so slice carefully. Per serving: 308 calories, 31g protein, 7g carbs, 12g fat, 280mg sodium.
	4. Hardboiled Eggwhite Tuna Salad: 5-6 hardboiled eggwhites 12oz Tuna Walden Farms Mayo. (there is a pomegranate flavor that is great in this recipe) (you may add a yolk or two if the fats are needed in your meal, Also I like to add pickles and celery to minefor flavor)
	5. Egg Drops Soup 2-3 cups chicken broth 5-6 egg whites Bring to a boil, put in egg whites and cook until egg whites are solid. May add broccoli, carrots, onions, celery, or spinach to taste.
Bonus Dessert recipe!!!!	Oatmeal Chocolate chip protein cookies Servings: 15 cookies Preheat oven: 350 degrees Prep time: 6 Minutes Cook time: 15 Minutes (can vary slightly based on oven) Ingredients: •      1 ½ cups old-fashioned Oats •      2 scoops Dymatize Elite Gourmet protein Vanilla Whey •      3 egg whites •      ½ cup lowfat 2% milk cottage cheese, blended •      1/4tsp baking powder •      1/2tsp baking soda •      1tbsp sugar-free fat-free jello vanilla pudding powder •      4tbsp Splenda (or alternative calorie free sweetner) •      2tbsp splenda brown sugar or organic stevia brown sugar •      1/8tsp sea salt •      1/2 tsp vanilla extract •      1/2tsp butter extract •      ¼ cup milk chocolate chips Drections: First You’ll want to get your blender or food processor out and blend your cottage cheese till its smoot and creamy. No Chunks! Then mix all of your ingredients in a medium size mixing bowl. Stir till mixed completely together. Your mixture should look almost sticky. That’s what you want! Using a cookie sheet, place a large piece of parchment paper on pan and spray lightly with pam olive oil. Since I din’t use butter or oil in the recipe, your cookies will tend to stick to the pan. I found using parchment paper is a big help with the situation. Using a spoon, drop cookie dough onto cookie sheet. This recipe makes 15 cookies. Bake at 350 degree for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let them sit for about 5 minutes on cookie sheet to finish cooking the bottoms. Nutrition Facts (1 Cookie): Calories: 83 Fat: 2g Carbs: 11g Protein: 6g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 3.5g

A Girls Guide to Supplements

For most women the reason we even walk into the gym in the first place is not so that we can look Huge and cut like the guys we dream about and see in magazines, no we go to the gym to achieve something much greater, confidence in the way we look and feel. A good, hard, training regimen is the only way to get a perfectly lean body, and it releases all those endorphins that make you feel awesome afterward. At the root of getting lean however, 80% of you program is actually nutritional. What you do not hear about with most nutritional programs is the power of the supplements you take. By adding these 10 supplements to your overall program you will be able to develop more lean muscle, accelerate your fat loss, and improve your overall health.

Whey Protein: Helps lean muscle growth

Whey protein is one of two different kinds of protein that comes from milk (The other is Casein). The primary reason you would want to add whey into your diet is due to the speed at which it digests. Whey is ideal for women primarily first thing in the morning (usually right after a workout) and in the evening preferably your last meal before bed. Reasoning is because it is fast digesting and in both those situations you do not want heavy foods even proteins sitting in your stomach, you want your metabolism to continue moving. Staple proteins such as chicken, eggs and tuna are much slower digesting so they will not help you recover form a workout quite as quickly. At night when you are sleeping is when your body is in repair mode and is more anabolic than any other time of the day, so by making sure your last meal of the day is fast digesting you will not have something sitting in your stomach while you sleep preventing this process.

Multi-Vitamin: Overall health

Many people are aware that a multi-vitamin is a staple in any persons day not just those who are active. Most people realize the benefit to a god multi-vitamin is to fill in the nutritional gaps that your everyday meals do not fill. What most people do not realize is that it is very important to make sure your vitamin is wholefood and not synthetic. Wholefood simply means it is all natural, that it is 100% from fruits, vegies or other foods we may normally be able to eat and are mostly or entirely unprocessed or artificial. Synthetic is man-made. They come from a laboratory where scientists created this nutrient we need out of basically nothing. Studies have actually shown that synthetic vitamins do increase risk of several types of cancer as well as other medical issues, for example Vitamin E is typically taken to prevent heart problems when in fact Synthetic Vitamin E actually causes different heart problems including an increased risk of heart disease. By making sure your multi-Vitamin is wholefood you will be making sure that what goes into your body will indeed improve your health (National Cancer Institute and Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Caffeine: Accelerated Fat Burning

Many of us are already familiar with taking caffeine to get a boost in our energy and to perk us up quite a bit but in the gym it has a much more important role to play. Caffeine increases the amount of fat that gets released from the fat cells. When taken in conjunction with a metabolic rate increasing substance such as green tea extract or hoodia that will increase fat broken down in the bloodstream you will become a fat destroying machine.

Fish Oils: Good for overall health and fat burning

The health benefits of fish oil include its ability to aid in treatment of heart diseases, high cholesterol, depression, anxiety, AHDH, low immunity, cancer, diabetes, inflammation, arthritis, IBD, AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, eye disorders, macular degeneration and ulcers. It is helps in weight loss, pregnancy, fertility and skin care (particular for disorders such as psoriasis, acne). Fish oil improves the efficacy of exercise in reducing weight. Exercise combined with fish oil has a positive effect on the body shape and body composition.

Calcium: Overall health and muscle strength

Calcium is a well-known product to help with overall bone density and strength. It helps prevent osteoporosis and several other diseases. Calcium is also required for muscle contraction to actually happen. And research suggests this unassuming mineral can also help spur fat loss. This may be because calcium decreases the amount of dietary fat that's absorbed by the intestines and suppresses a hormone called calcitriol, which is responsible for reducing fat burning.

Nitric Oxide: Increase in energy

N.O. controls the muscle groups that help our blood vessels to expand. This obvious allows more blood flow to circulate through the body. Increased blood flow means an increase in oxygen circulation and amino acids getting to different parts of the body. All of this results in a jump in energy which allows you to be able to not only have more energy during you workouts but it also allows to receive a better “Pump” or increased blood flow to whatever muscle group you are lifting. This increase in blood helps the muscle cells to expand triggering them with a signal to grow.

L-Glutamine: Muscle strength and rehabilitation

Glutamine is the most common amino acid found in the body and is the basis of our entire immune system. During any sort of intense training glutamine stores are depleted to help with muscle and strength recovery. This depletion results in a weakened immune system due to pulling that glutamine out, this can increase risk of getting sick. Studies show that it can take up to 6 days to replenish glutamine stores. L-Glutamine supplementation can minimize breakdown of muscle and improve protein metabolism allowing for faster better recovery.

Creatine: An amino-acid-like compound that occurs naturally in muscle tissue.

Creatines main function is to help muscles create fast energy during high intensity work outs. Taking a supplemental creatine can help give your body stores of energy to pull from during training of any sort for a better workout and better output. It also helps pull water into the muscle cells increasing their size and causing a stretch that can yield muscle growth.

B-Complex: Overall health with essential vitamins

B-Complex is a well-known energy supplement. It is however also used for promoting a healthy nervous system, alleviating stress and anxiety, and play an essential role in metabolism function. Deficiency in Vitamins B2, B3, B5, and B6 can result in fatigue and lethargy, impaired digestion, or even abnormal sleep patterns. It can help you not only in making your nails, hair, and skin healthier and also giving you a great general well-being and superior health benefits.

The worst experience I ever had in a gym was when I was a newbie and walked into a large gym for the first time. I knew I had been taught I should weight train not just do cardio but I just had no idea what I was doing. I walked around blindly not sure where to start and finally just went and got on the treadmill since that was what I had done so much in the past. My goal today is to keep you from making the same mistake. Every person deserves an opportunity to walk into a gym with confidence and be successful. Here are five tips to ensuring a safe, successful and fun gym experience.

Create a realistic schedule and training program:

If there is one thing I have learned with any beginner in the gym it is that 5 days a week right off the back is pretty intense. It is not that it is too big a goal but to go from zero to a hundred over night for most people does not help create a habit or a lifestyle it is overload which most will crash and burn from. That is what happens to a lot of people during January for New Year’s resolutions for example. Instead I prefer an alternate program of 2 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 2 days off. This allows a break in between to help with muscle recovery, energy and managing time during the week. This would mean you go to the gym Monday and Tuesday, take off Wednesday and then workout on Thursday and Friday. Also it allows you to work every muscle group without overtraining which is fairly common and can result in getting sick and overwhelmed. Monday is most likely my “Lower Body/Leg Day” (Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings, Inner and Outer thigh, and Calves). This is because I have had my whole weekend off and I always have the energy to hit such a large area of muscle groups really heavy. Tuesday s are typically shoulders, then on Thursday chest and Triceps and I finish my week off strong with back and biceps.

Weight Train, don’t just hit the treadmill:

When I was 20 years old I learned a valuable lesson. I was dating a guy who had owned a supplement store and been a trainer for years. I was fairly skinny but my legs are quite dominant naturally (comes from 15 years of soccer), he got so tired of me doing cardio and saying I couldn’t lift legs because I was thick enough I didn’t want to put on muscle. His solution…. He grounded me from cardio for 3 months!!! I learned a valuable lesson during those 3 months, lifting weight leans you out while adding just enough muscle your body needs. Needless to say I lost 3 pant sizes. I was very lucky to have had him in my life, he taught me to make a schedule of the gym and he taught me how to use the gym. He took the time to make up a workout plan and teach me what each exercise was. I highly recommend doing the same for anyone else. Plan ahead devise your workout plan at home. RESEARCH! Typically you can work with a trainer one or two times to create a plan or you can create one at home using tutorials you can find online by trainers that have posted on places like youtube.com or on websites that do weekly videos such as mysportsnutrition.com. Always make sure they are certified however so you are getting good information.

Form (Workout Smarter not Harder):

Proper form is essential when training. It will deter and prevent any injury, and it can be a lot of fun because you can use your “Super Woman” or “Super Man” walk. This is the proper form of standing – Keep your chest up, abs in tight, slight curve in your lower back, chin up and head held high. Then picture an imaginary cape off of your back flying in the wind! This proper form is critical in making sure you don’t injure yourself. It’s also vital in making sure you execute the exercise correctly. Form is also so important because it won’t allow you to cheat!

Nutrition:

Ever heard the phrase “abs are made in the kitchen?” The reason you have probably heard it is because it is true. No matter how many ab exercises you do you will never have a 6 pack unless you clean up what you eat. I am not saying never eat sugar again but I am saying there are some basics you can start with. I generally recommend people to start the 3-2-1 method, 3g protein for every 2g of carbs and 1g of fat. So if you are eating a meal that has 30g protein then you would want 15g carbs and 10g of fat. The second thing you want to do is switch over to 5-6 small meals a day. I find that by starting clients with this strategy it allows you to eat food you would like while getting the general proportions you would need.

Have Faith in Yourself:

Faith can be a very powerful word and a powerful concept when used correctly. There is a phrase that says “faith without work is dead.” This is SO true! You must first have faith in yourself that what you want to do in the gym is something that you can accomplish. Once that seed is planted in your mind then there is nothing stronger that you cannot mentally overcome. I am going to highly recommend taking a before picture of yourself. This is the moment we all dread but it must be done. Then take a picture of someone that inspires you and hang them both up on your fridge. A lot of people say hang it on your mirror so you see it every morning but I find that it helps keep our minds and hands out of the fridge when unnecessary and helps remind us to make better choices when necessary.

I really hoope these 5 tips will help getting you on the right track to success and being comfortable in the gym as you all deserve to be. Remember “That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the nature of the object has changed but that our power to do has increased” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson.

So hopefully by now you have all checked out my Bio on Mysportsnutrition.com Athlete page and know a little bit about me and my competition background.

So lets jump straight into it-this week is my last heavy week for my before I begin a new training cycle leading to my first US Strongman Competition in March. I started off yesterday deadlifting. My aim yesterday was to lift as heavy as I could WITHOUT the use of lifting straps. I have my eye on a competition in April with an Axle Deadlift with no straps allowed which is more a test of grip than back. I know my grip is pretty good and my back can take whatever I can grip.

So I started off very light and did some speed reps and as the weight increased the reps went down. I was fairly happy with my last lift-I know my back can take more but my grip started to give plus I tore a callous on my right hand which brought my Deadlifts to an end for the day.Check out the video on my Youtube page.

I then went on to do some assistance work with my hamstrings and lower back and abs. To improve my Deadlifts I focus just as much on my assistance work and weak points. Those who can't get past their plateaus and progress slower are the one's who neglect assistance work and mixing up their Deadlifts. For example-If your lockout is weak at the top of your lift then work 18" Deadlifts or Reverse Band Deadlifts into your routine. If you struggle from the floor to your knees then bring deficit Deadlifts into your routine and Speed Deadlifts.

Assistance work to improve your Deadlifts is vital to your progress. Hamstring, upper back, glutes, abs, grip........the list goes on! Just like a Squat, the Deadlift involves so much more than most people think.

There is no secret to a good Deadlift.

Thanks for reading

Train Hard!

It was spring, 2001 in Federal Way, Wa. Where I began my quest to get in shape and gain some muscle onto my 5'7', 150 pound frame. I had no intention of becoming a bodybuilder; I just wanted to look like a professional wrestler, namely Triple H! I had no intention on standing on stage, in my underwear, in front of hundreds of people and flexing my muscles, that was not my goal. While training at Bally Total Fitness in Federal Way, WA, all that changed. While working out one morning, I spotted two guys posing and flexing in the mirror on the lower level of the gym and I remember saying to myself....."Look at these fools, what the h** are they doing", little did I know, I would be doing the same thing the following year.

A few months went by and I was still walking around the gym with that "Deer in the Headlights" look until I ran into the biggest female I had ever seen in my life and I got up the nerve to talk to her. I asked her..."Are your Ms. Olympia?", I remember seeing her in Flex Magazine, and she answered me in her thick Ukrainian accent, "Yes I am", it was Valentina Chepiga, working out in the same gym in Federal Way that I was!!! I was so happy and wanted to impress her by showing her I was able to lift heavy weights, at the same time, I had no clue as to what I was doing!

One afternoon, that same guy that was posing in the mirror walked into the gym, a full 20 pounds heavier than he was 2 months prior and I asked him, "How did you do that, how did you gain that much muscle???", He replied, "follow me, I will help you", he became my best friend, Elias Clark.

Fast forward, in 2002, I moved to Anchorage, Alaska and began my quest to become a bodybuilder like my best friend Eli and I ran into Froilan Brandt and Rodney McDonald of Max Muscle Anchorage and they began to help me prepare for the 2002 Anchorage Bodybuilding Championships where I won my class at my first contest. In 2003, I wanted more and did that same contest again and won my class again!

I was on cloud nine at the point until 2005 and I ran into the big league, THE EMERALD CUP in Washington State. I placed 7th in the open middleweight class and in 2006, I place 6th in that same class, that's when my life changed forever. May 2006, after having numerous nose bleeds, and chest palpitations, I decided to go see a doctor for a checkup. The doctor sent me to a specialist for numerous test and evaluations where the cardiologist told me, you have heart disease and things are not looking good for you. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a condition in which the heart muscle becomes thick. The thickening makes it harder for blood to leave the heart, forcing the heart to work harder to pump blood. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is often asymmetrical; meaning one part of the heart is thicker than the other parts, which my left side is thicker than the right side.

I was told I had 3 month to live unless I changed my current lifestyle and my way of working out so I did. It was 5 long years before I made a full recovery and after talking to all my doctors, I was cleared to compete again with no restrictions. That’s when I began my 8 month quest for the 2011 Alaska State Championships in Anchorage, AK. I sought the help of then, a longtime friend who had been helping me the entire 8 months, when, 2 weeks out from the show, I was at my all-time best, ripped to the bone and headed to an overall win, when the unbelievable happened. The week of the show, my body started rejecting everything we were doing to it, nothing was working to get that 2 weeks out look back, so I took drastic measure to win. At the poor advice of this person, I went 3 days with 32oz of water with pushed me into severe dehydration and my body shut down.

The Friday before the show was the worst I had ever felt in my life, this is when the heart attack began to make it way through my body. Saturday, the day of the show, I couldn't eat, I had lost all of my definition and cuts, I was so dry and thirsty I couldn't see anything, everything was hazy and foggy but I keep going. After being announced 4th place, I went to the hospital and was told I was having a heart attack. My liver had shut down, my kidneys were not functioning, and my heart was getting ready to stop beating. My eyes had turned red and yellow and I was hospitalized for 4 day, trying to get everything back in order and it took 5 days to be rehydrated.

My cardiologist came to my bed side and looked me in my eyes and said, "Bodybuilding is over for you, you almost died Charles!, now you have congestive heart failure (CHF)!!!".Congestive heart failure (CHF) is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body.

I had no clue that what i was being put through by my "then" trainer was killing me slowly but surely, so I sat in that hospital bed knowing I would never compete again. I asked my doctor, "what can I do that will not cause any more damage to my heart?” he said, "your already lean, just stay this way...do modeling or something"........this is when I thought, hmmmm, Men's Physique!!!!! I asked my doctor and he said "GO FOR IT"!!!! Now, I'm 100% healthy, won my first Men's Physique contest 3 weeks after leaving the hospital and I’m on my way with my best friend and trainer Shawn Wolfe to the 2012 NPC Emerald Cup!!! This man, Shawn Wolfe has been my backbone, my strength and he guides me to be the best MAN, not just athlete I can be, W4L!!!!!!

I will always have congestive heart failure but I learned a valuable lesson. Listen to your body, listen to yourself, you know you better than anyone else. Your health and well-being is more important, don't listen to bad advice, surround yourself with winners like my W4L family, and you too will become a winner.

Thanks for reading......

Charles Anderson, NPC Men's Physique Competitor

Many people now a day know Phil Heath as Phil “The Gift” Heath, Mr. Olympia 2011. For those of us in the fitness and bodybuilding industry we know where the name “The Gift” came from. From the moment Phil stepped on the stage in 2003 as a bodybuilder he is yet to do a show in which he does not take home a trophy. Phil Heath is the prime example that greatness is not limited to one aspect or goal in our life. Greatness is a combination of certain attributes that can carry you to success no matter what you strive to do.

Prior to Phil’s incredible career as one of only 13 men in history to win the Mr. Olympia title to his name, he was an avid basketball player. A star athlete on his high school basketball team he went on to participated on the University of Denver (Div.1-A) Men’s Basketball team (1998-2002) as a point/shooting guard for the Pioneer’s. It was on the basketball court in college that he realized a professional basketball career may not be in his future but instead learned those many attributes it takes to be successful in any aspect of life.

• -Hard work ethic
• -Self-discipline
• -Respect for others
• -Humility
• -Accountability

After college was over Phil continued training, the difference was his friends he trained with now were bodybuilders and not basketball players. Though never seeing himself as a bodybuilder he decided to give it a try and jumped in head first and we all know it went up hill from there. Immediately the correlation between the two sports would have been obvious to Phil, the hard work, the discipline, everything he had learned from basketball simply rolled over into his new found love.

It didn’t take long to mold himself to the lifestyle. He went from eating 3X a day to 6 or 7 and he began to live, breathe and sweat the gym. The love of the sport only grew as he watched competitions in person and on T.V. mesmerized by the level of athleticism with the muscularity, balance, muscle control and symmetry.

By the end of ’03 he had already won the novice and open overall, plus taken home another 1st place trophy for Men’s Light-Heavyweight. Just 4 shows later he was walking away with not just a 1st place win for the heavyweight and overall champ at the USA’s but he was walking away with a well-deserved Pro card.

Today Phil’s athleticism is considered to be matched with not only the 12 Olympians prior to him but that of Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, Mia Hamm, David Beckham and many more. He is a representative of the bodybuilding industry in a way that people can relate to him, and one that mainstream society can have the upmost respect for. He is known as one of the most humble men in bodybuilding history. It is beyond true that Phil “The Gift” Heath is the spitting image of someone who not only wants to be the best but strives to work as hard as he can to do it while taking as many people to the top with him as he can. He is truly a man with admiral traits and is one of few athletes in this country that is truly worth looking up to and wanting to be like. Good luck in the 2012 year Phil and to a long and successful career ahead of you.

http://www.phillipheath.com/about/index.htm

Physical activity of any sort from a friendly soccer game to bodybuilding to the super bowl exposes a person to a variety of influences that promote water loss. The level of excursion to the environment to the clothes you wear all have an impact on how much water will be lost and can ultimately effect whatever it is you are doing. Also keep in mind that there are certain attributes of a person that can affect water loss such as age, weight, and even gender has an effect. Since the body prefers to maintain a certain core temperature, this excess heat must be dissipated to the external environment. Hence exercise is always accompanied by sweating.

The fact is that over 70% of the body is made up of water. It is the second most important thing that our body needs to function in order to survive (second to oxygen of course).  The symptoms of dehydration are varied but include increased thirst (your brain telling you your body needs water), dry mouth and dry nasal passages, weakness, dizziness, palpitations (due to the subsequent electrolyte imbalance dehydration causes), confusion, inability to sweat, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and if ignored long enough, death (www.webmd.com). It's estimated that a 2% reduction in body fluids can result in performance decreases of up to 15-20% (Kleiner 1999). With this being said dehydration is any athlete’s single most destructive enemy.

There are specific steps that should be taken by athletes prevent dehydration during a workout, game or practice. First: prehydration should be considered based on urinary output and color (darker indicates improper hydration) several hours ahead of the time your activities are scheduled. The second step is a more difficult one because there is not a one size fits all solution to staying hydrated while working out. Everyone is different and you will need to learn to listen to your bodies needs to prevent injury. Third is your post workout; you will need to make sure to rehydrate yourself fully and there are several methods in which to do this. The most obvious is to drink plenty of water, or if time permits, consumption of meals and beverages will restore the proper fluid balance. If the food or beverages have sodium in them, it is even better.

For athletes getting in water is typically pretty easy. They understand the necessity of it and due to the constant need because of heavy athletic activity drinking water becomes pretty regular. What about the average Joe who is just trying to lose some weight though and absolutely hates drinking water? I’m sure you have heard it before, it has no flavor, I don’t like it, I never feel like I need it. Well…. There are some healthy great alternatives for those people to at least help them get the basics. Your first option is to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. The average water content of fruit is about 85% and with vegetables it is actually higher at around 90%. This makes them both an excellent source of water and most fruits and vegetables have quite a bit of flavor in comparison to water. Another option is to drink milk. Milk is composed of 3 main things, protein, Lipid and water. 87% water to be exact. Without water the protein and Lipid would be quite difficult to excrete from the gland. A third option is fruit juices and caffeine-free teas and coffee. Keep in mind that caffeine is a well-known diuretic which means it promotes water loss. For this reason you want to steer clear of it as much as possible if you are not much of a water drinker.

So keep in mind that there is a solution for everyone it is just a matter of figuring it out. There is however no alternative to water itself, you might find descent alternative sources to rehydrate but at the end of the day actual water should always be as much of you number one choice as possible.  

It turns out the poor Ronnie was suffering from pain due to spinal cord or nerve root pressure from a cervical disc herniation. The injury location was discovered by a Myelography which often times is more effective with finding these types of injuries over a CT scan or Xray. Myelography is a type of radiographic examination that uses a contrast medium to detect pathology of the spinal cord, including the location of a spinal cord injury, cysts, and tumors.

Ronnie Coleman made a Cervical Disectomy Fusion of C4-C5 C5-C6 and C6-C7. This will take about 4 weeks for him to recover from but only a champion as resilient as 8X time Olympia winner Ronnie Coleman could have Spinal Surgery and refer to it as a cosmetic surgery and tell everyone just after he will be back on the stage in weeks. He jokingly tweeted that the surgery was actually to help him put more size on. Ronnie has repeatedly said that he feels his back surgeries will benefit him in the long wrong, not hinder him. That is the perspective of a true winner.

The most successful athletes of our time rely on many strategies to channel their strengths and talents into their workouts, diets, and other aspects or their training in order to become the best of the best the most important of those strategies however is a positive mind. Whether they are trying to accomplish the physical perfection of bodybuilding, breaking the 9.58 second world record in the 100 meter dash or trying to get the lead role in The Nutcracker with the Chicago Ballet without the power of a positive mind progression is impossible. They would give up before they even really started. The ability to connect psychologically with ones goals through a positive mind is a very important, albeit often overlooked, aspect in the quest for physical superiority in any sport.

In today’s fast-paced world full of obstacles we are not in control of, it is difficult to stay focused moving forward. The top professionals, in any sport, however, have few outside distractions, and this, in turn, allows them to concentrate on their training objectives with relative efficiency. In order to do this an athlete must not be pre-occupied with yesterday, this morning or ten minutes ago. They must focus on the task at hand and what is to be accomplished by that task. "Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event." ~Brian Tracy. Having a positive mind-set allows you to leave the outside world on the outside and immerse oneself in the task at hand.

There are many ways to distance oneself from the overwhelming negatives of this world. To accomplish such a large task we must first identify those negatives. One of the most common negatives are the people and their mindsets around you, especially when you start reaching heights they do not know how to reach. Andre Forde once said “One thing I have come to notice in this world is that with success brings all kinds of people who will try to pull you down or make you feel bad about yourself when really its because these people lack the ambition and motivation that you have and it pains them to see you get by. There are many of these people out there. I look at them as a road block. Just walk around and keep going.” A Positive mindset is the tool to help us do this one thing.

Other common negative things to stay away from are going to be sedentariness. It is easy to say this is to hard and want to sit back and relax but that is not what this life is for. We cannot become greatness until we move forward with great speed. Two other very damaging negatives to any athlete are excessive drinking and smoking. The poisonous effects that alcohol has on the body is very draining and can drastically slow down progress and smoking of course can stop you from doing anything athletic due to the lack of ability to breathe.

It has to be said that thinking about ones work-out 24-hours-per-day is probably not conducive to developing a positive mindset. This could, instead, lead to burn-out and disillusionment. Instead we must before each training session imagine exactly what is to be achieved during that set. Also, doing this within the hour before each training-session has merit.

Picking your Fitness Class

Women's bodybuilding is a relatively new sport that began in the late 1970s. Just as men do, female bodybuilders strive to add muscle and reduce body fat to achieve a balanced, muscular body .The idea that a women would want to become a bodybuilder was just unheard of. Little did those men know what was coming at them. For quite a while women’s bodybuilding was the only option women had in the industry. The world of women’s bodybuilding is extremely close to that of the men, they have the same type of physique, which is judged similarly. Even the classes are broken down according to weight such as the men because it makes no sense for a woman bodybuilder that weighs 165lbs to be judged against a woman who is 115lbs. Even though women’s bodybuilding is not what it used to be it has had one huge impact on the women’s portion of the industry today: It laid the road blocks for the figure and bikini divisions. The figure and bikini divisions grow larger every year as women realize that bodybuilding does not have to be about Testosterone, masculine features and being bigger then is even attainable for most women.

Figure competition is by far, the fastest growing segment of bodybuilding. It allows women to show off their hard work they've put in at the gym without having to be overly muscular. Make no mistake about it, a figure competition IS a bodybuilding contest... Just not done to the same degree as your typical bodybuilding standard. In general figure judges look for a combination of:

• 1. Muscularity
• 2. Symmetry
• 3. Stage presence
• 4. Body shape
• 5. Muscle shape
• 6. Presentation: posing, poise, grace and confidence

Overall the physique of a figure competitor should be less in size of those in bodybuilding and they are not typically as vascular or lean. There needs to be an obvious separation of muscle but generally striations are frowned upon. Competitors should have a balanced athletic build, with clearly defined musculature. Size of the muscles is not important in this division like in bodybuilding, but these competitors should still have beautiful symmetry. Figure competitors are also judged on their overall appearance. This includes areas such as: stage presentation, hair and make-up, suit selection, feminine qualities, and posing. Competitors should appear confident and elegant very similar to that of a regular pageant.

Just like Figure Bikini is its own type of division in its own right. There's one major difference between Ms. Bikini and Figure competitors - body condition. Though bikini competitors must have an athletic build it is with a more shapely and sexy appearance. Generally these women will have a rather low body fat percentage then that of the average women but they will be noticeably softer then the figure girls. Not all bodybuilding fans are excited about this newer division, they seem to think that the bikini contest should be left at spring break. These people take on the opinion that this division is simple to attract attention and people to the sport for money purposes and nothing else. These women work just as hard and diet as much to get into competition shape as the bodybuilding and figure girls and if they are going to put in the time and effort shouldn’t they be rewarded as well?

Competing can be a fantastic way to test your limits, build discipline, and learn a lot about your body, but it is a commitment not to be taken lightly. When you decide to start training for a competition, many things in your life will change. It will be a struggle, and if you do it right, your life won’t ever be the same.